## Trace selectively

You may opt to trace specific invocations or parts of your application using LangSmith's `tracing_context` context manager:

:::python
```python
import langsmith as ls

# This WILL be traced
with ls.tracing_context(enabled=True):
    agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Send a test email to alice@example.com"}]})

# This will NOT be traced (if LANGSMITH_TRACING is not set)
agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Send another email"}]})
```
:::

:::js
```ts
import { LangChainTracer } from "@langchain/core/tracers/tracer_langchain";

// This WILL be traced
const tracer = new LangChainTracer();
await agent.invoke(
  {
    messages: [{role: "user", content: "Send a test email to alice@example.com"}]
  },
  { callbacks: [tracer] }
);

// This will NOT be traced (if LANGSMITH_TRACING is not set)
await agent.invoke(
  {
    messages: [{role: "user", content: "Send another email"}]
  }
);
```
:::

## Log to a project

<Accordion title="Statically">

You can set a custom project name for your entire application by setting the `LANGSMITH_PROJECT` environment variable:

```bash
export LANGSMITH_PROJECT=my-agent-project
```
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Dynamically">

You can set the project name programmatically for specific operations:

:::python
```python
import langsmith as ls

with ls.tracing_context(project_name="email-agent-test", enabled=True):
    response = agent.invoke({
        "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Send a welcome email"}]
    })
```
:::

:::js
```ts
import { LangChainTracer } from "@langchain/core/tracers/tracer_langchain";

const tracer = new LangChainTracer({ projectName: "email-agent-test" });
await agent.invoke(
  {
    messages: [{role: "user", content: "Send a test email to alice@example.com"}]
  },
  { callbacks: [tracer] }
);
```
:::
</Accordion>

## Add metadata to traces

You can annotate your traces with custom metadata and tags:

:::python
```python
response = agent.invoke(
    {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Send a welcome email"}]},
    config={
        "tags": ["production", "email-assistant", "v1.0"],
        "metadata": {
            "user_id": "user_123",
            "session_id": "session_456",
            "environment": "production"
        }
    }
)
```

`tracing_context` also accepts tags and metadata for fine-grained control:

```python
with ls.tracing_context(
    project_name="email-agent-test",
    enabled=True,
    tags=["production", "email-assistant", "v1.0"],
    metadata={"user_id": "user_123", "session_id": "session_456", "environment": "production"}):
    response = agent.invoke(
        {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Send a welcome email"}]}
    )
```
:::

:::js
```ts
import { LangChainTracer } from "@langchain/core/tracers/tracer_langchain";

const tracer = new LangChainTracer({ projectName: "email-agent-test" });
await agent.invoke(
  {
    messages: [{role: "user", content: "Send a test email to alice@example.com"}]
  },
  config: {
    tags: ["production", "email-assistant", "v1.0"],
    metadata: {
      userId: "user123",
      sessionId: "session456",
      environment: "production"
    }
  },
);

```
:::

This custom metadata and tags will be attached to the trace in LangSmith.


<Tip>
To learn more about how to use traces to debug, evaluate, and monitor your agents, see the [LangSmith documentation](/langsmith/home).
</Tip>
